The arrival to the presidency of a television talk show host who loudly promised nightmares has convinced many Argentines that Even the most surprising character, whether in the media or outside politics, can occupy the same place. Javier Milei has pushed the horizon of what is possible to say, to the point of condemning social rights. The shift of society to the right, and the fear of a re-election of the anarcho-capitalist in 2027 it has set off the alarms of the peronismthe force that has been predominant in this country since 1945. Some of its leaders have begun to accept that to defeat Milei, someone with the same characteristics is needed: a outsider that tunes with the time. The evangelical pastor Dante Gebelknown in the Latin universe of the United States, has appeared for days as an eventual alternative to the official extreme right.
The idea has come from one of the main leaders of the General Confederation of Labor (CGT)Cristian Jerónimo. There was a time when the labor movement was the “backbone” of Peronism. Its strength, in a country with almost full formal occupation, was decisive. “Hit and negotiate” was his motto. The CGT has lost too much muscle, in step with the expansion of informal work. He cannot call a general strike because the call is ignored by almost half of the people involved in economic activity. In the midst of his decline and discredit, Jerónimo, general secretary of the glass workers’ union, invoked the figure of the pastor who blessed the second presidency of Nayib Bukele. Such conservatism, transmitted in a colloquial and even joking manner, did not prevent other union leaders, including those on the left, such as Néstor Segovia, representative of the metro workers, from considering the proposal reasonable.
Gebel was flattered. “I don’t rule it out,” he said., waiting for his eventual candidacy to gain greater support. The pastor was born in 1968 in the outskirts of Buenos Aires. Since 2009 he has lived and preached in California. Its temple at the River Church can accommodate about 5,000 parishioners who fill the facility with expressions of gratitude every Sunday. His profile on YouTube is followed by more than three million subscribers. Channel 13 of the city of Buenos Aires broadcasts its program The divine night. Each broadcast is seen by a million viewers.
He is the father of four children. His wife, Liliana Gebel, became known as a Functional Medicine Practitioner, image consultant and makeup artist for her husband. Gebel is not immune to the temptations of politics. In addition to fixing Bukele, has participated in the celebration of the 71st anniversary of the independence of the State of Israel and shouted hallelujahs in Uganda.
A machine in motion
The feeling that he aspires to something more than a pulpit reverberates in what he has called his farewell tour: “President”. Thousands of people attended its celebrations, which also included European countries. In addition to the union members, Gebel has added to his entourage a former leader of La Libertad Avanza, Milei’s party, Eugenio Casielles. They have launched a space, “Argentine consolidation”. The media assure that other libertarians disdained by Karina Milei have already approached. The “gebelists” have begun to tour the country to listen to the men and women who would like a renewal in 2027 but are still allergic to voting for Kirchnerists. In some northern provinces, Pentecostal churches have grown significantly.
The president himself has warned of this and that is why he decided to lend a hand to the diverse evangelicals. Not only did it grant them a legal status that was elusive. The anarcho-capitalist traveled to Resistencia, capital of the very poor province of Chaco, to participate in the inauguration of the Jorge Ledesma temple, a pastor who attributed the transformation of 100,000 Argentine pesos into 100,000 dollars to a miracle. The ruling party has attracted to its bench in Congress several legislators who are also pastors and has significant support from the Christian Alliance of Evangelical Churches of the Argentine Republic (ACIERA). What would happen to those temples and the structure that groups them together if a of yours aspire to govern Argentina?
The “absolute void”
“In a country crossed by divisions and permanent angerI can’t think of anyone better than Dante Gebel to work for a true national unity and prosperity that reaches all Argentines. I hope he decides that way one day.”said the general secretary of the Aeronavegantes workers, Juan Pablo Brey.
“Traditional politicians do not generate the expectations that Gebel is generating”admitted the former vice-governor of the province of Buenos Aires, Gabriel Mariotto. “I think that to get out of situations that are absolutely complex, you need training in politics. Let’s pay attention to this phenomenon. Do you want to contribute to the country’s discussion? It seems very good to me. No, however, that a outisder can talk about what we have to do with foreign debt and foreign trade, public services, mining and energy. I didn’t hear all these definitions from Dante.”
Mariotto comes from Kirchnerism. He recognizes, however, that there is an “absolute vacuum” in the opposition camp. ““The true faith of the Argentine people is in social justice.”the preacher has said for the moment to differentiate himself from Milei. As a theologian of prosperity, an unwritten doctrine but one that he practices by displaying his opulent acquisitions without Franciscan embarrassment, because being rich, he insists, is not a sin, Gebel maintains at the same time that the believer must eradicate the “poverty mentality” and replace it with a “kingdom mentality”where he can function as a steward of God’s riches.
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